Bowne Announces 2000 Results, Earnings Down

Friday, February 16, 2001

Press release from the issuing company

New York, Feb. 14, 2001 -- Bowne & Co. IncNYSE: BNE today announced operating results for the year ended December 31, 2000 as net sales of $1,113,000,000 increased 10% over last year's net sales of $1,011,000,000.
For the year ended December 31, 2000, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $85,567,000 decreased from $111,995,000 in 1999. The year ended December 31, 2000, included a restructuring charge of $5.5 million, a non-cash charge of $13.7 million related to the impairment of goodwill in the Internet segment and approximately $1.7 million related to the cost of repositioning our Internet consulting business. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2000, of $7,008,000 compared to $27,813,000 for the year ended December 31, 1999. Diluted earnings per share were $0.20 compared to $0.74 for the year ended December 31, 1999. Excluding the impact of the charges previously mentioned, net income and diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2000 were approximately $22,268,000 and $0.63, respectively.
EBITDA loss for the fourth quarter of $5,102,000, including the above mentioned charges compared to income of $28,305,000 for the fourth quarter 1999. Net income for the quarter was a $15,500,000 loss, compared to income of $7,263,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 1999. Diluted earnings per share were a $0.46 loss compared to a $0.19 gain for the quarter ended December 31, 1999. Excluding the impact of the charges previously mentioned, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2000 were a loss of approximately $225,000 or $0.01 per share (diluted).
Robert M. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Bowne said, "We were obviously impacted by the downturn in the domestic capital markets with an exceptionally weak month of December. Our results indicate that while we have somewhat mitigated the impact of the cyclicality of our transactional printing business, we still have more to do. The cost reduction initiatives we have previously announced, are one such step which will help us operate more efficiently and stabilize margins over the long term."
Carl J. Crosetto, president of Bowne, noted the significant growth in international financial printing and Bowne's leadership in that market, stating, "International financial printing revenues grew 25% over the record levels of 1999, however we are beginning to feel the impact of a market slowdown overseas in certain markets."
Mr. Johnson concluded, "While we were certainly disappointed by the downturn in the capital markets, we are encouraged by the continuing improvements made by both our globalization and outsourcing businesses. The record revenues in our outsourcing segment represent the seventh consecutive quarter of growth. In our globalization segment, the third straight quarter of revenue growth produced positive EBITDA results for the second consecutive quarter. We believe that we have turned the corner in this market and have reached sufficient capacity to continue this positive trend."